BREAKING NEWS: Flores fired!!

Jim Caldwell name is now circulating on Twitter.

Caldwell running offense and retaining Boyer for continuity on defense... would not be a bad thing. Hell we could do much worse.

this part was too funny not to share...

Unjustified. Unfair. Shocking. Egregiously premature. Embarrassing. Irresponsible. Dumbfounding.

Not enough words have yet been invented to adequately and fully describe the national clown show the Miami Dolphins became Monday with the sudden and utterly stupid firing of head coach Brian Flores.

Team owner Stephen Ross might as well have bought a billboard alongside Interstate 95 that depicts him wearing a big red Bozo nose and the word “INCOMPETENT” stamped across his forehead. The failed owner, good at spending money on facility improvements but very bad at fielding winning football teams, has sunk to a new low.

https://www.miamiherald.com/sports/spt-columns-blogs/greg-cote/article257186357.html

Speculation immediately arose that Ross would hire Jim Harbaugh away from Michigan. Ross of course is a Michigan alum and major donor who has been enamored of Harbaugh for years. Just as quickly came media reports reports Harbaugh was not being targeted by Miami — which had the stench of Dolphins management planting that. Why? The NFL’s Rooney Rule that encourages interviewing minority candidates.

Ross firing one of the league’s few Black head coaches with extremely dubious cause and already having in mind his white replacement — not as good look, that.

Caldwell gets an interview. Rooney Rule satisfied. Harbaugh comes to Miami. and then...

Ross also said Monday he as “a lot of confidence” in second-year quarterback Tua Tagovailoa and has “no plans” to pursue a trade for the Houtson Texans’ embattled but available Deshaun Watson.

Then again, we are talking about the mercurial, erratic Ross, who, at age 81, should not be credited with patience as an attribute.

If by March new Dolphins coach Jim Harbaugh was introducing new QB Deshaun Watson at a news conference as Ross beamed from the dais, would anybody be surprised? Anybody at all? Even a little?

This was the same owner who has sabotaged Tagovailao most of his first two seasons with his tawdry obsession with Watson.

just food for thought.

and they didn't even mention the tinfoil hat theory that Will Fuller clued Watson into how difficult Flores was and now Flores is being made the scapegoat so Ross can have his two biggest man-crushes: Harbaugh and Watson! juicy.

CarsonChris wrote:

JMP wrote:I'm totally on board with RPO - but you need a running game to make it effective.  It's a part of most NFL offenses these days.

Part. Not constant. No way to succeed when we got behind.

The failure of the offense was almost entirely due to an OL that couldn't pass protect at all, and could barely run block. It had nothing to do with the use of RPO.

white1 wrote:Jim Caldwell name is now circulating on Twitter.

Caldwell running offense and retaining Boyer for continuity on defense... would not be a bad thing.  Hell we could do much worse.

IMO Caldwell has been out of the league too long, and he's also too old for the job and has health issues. 67 years old and has been out of the league since (I think) 2017. We can do better.

As for Boyer - if the reports are to be believed, he was calling the D when it sucked the first half of the season. I'm fine if he goes.

The one coach I want to keep is Gerald Alexander. He's done a fantastic job with the DBs.

mercury22nathan wrote:this part was too funny not to share...

Unjustified. Unfair. Shocking. Egregiously premature. Embarrassing. Irresponsible. Dumbfounding.

Not enough words have yet been invented to adequately and fully describe the national clown show the Miami Dolphins became Monday with the sudden and utterly stupid firing of head coach Brian Flores.

Team owner Stephen Ross might as well have bought a billboard alongside Interstate 95 that depicts him wearing a big red Bozo nose and the word “INCOMPETENT” stamped across his forehead. The failed owner, good at spending money on facility improvements but very bad at fielding winning football teams, has sunk to a new low.

https://www.miamiherald.com/sports/spt-columns-blogs/greg-cote/article257186357.html

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That is hilarious, and I would not have fired Flores - but, if Ross and his staff really thought Flores was a problem, better to dump him now than drag it out. The biggest need this offseason is putting together a legit offensive coaching staff, something Flores has gone 0 for 3 at doing. I have no problem moving on IF they can bring in a coach that is capable of hiring and maintaining a competent offensive staff.

Sounds like Harbaugh may get an extension from Michigan. He's not going anywhere.

The shock and adrenaline of the blind-side firing of Flores this morning has worn off. I've read a bunch of tweets, takes, articles and even watched some ESPN segments covering the topic. I'm probably citing a bunch of stuff from Cote's article but I'm not sure.

I'm right back where I started. This was a mistake. There IS NO clear upgrade on the market over Flores. Period. He was, and is, and probably will be in the future, a very good NFL head coach. It's his record that speaks loudest. Second and closely following that is his ability to pull a team out of a 1-7 tailspin and push for a playoff run. Third, it's finishing his first year with ZERO talent on the roster with a 5-4 run to end the season. Including a victory over the Patriots when they needed a win for playoff seeding. Btw, he's 4-2 against the Pats, and may be the only head coach with a winning record over Belichek.

"Relationships." "Communication." "Organizational alignment." This is all nonsense. This is the kind of thing you can believe when a well respected and stable organization makes its first shocking move. The Dolphins, IMO, have not earned the right to be believed.

This was a power struggle. Plain and simple. And Grier won. Again. Ask Philbin. Ask Gase. Mike Tannenbaum. Hickey. Aponte. And now Flores. Grier has steadily climbed the ladder while others were pushed out the door. He's aligned himself with Garfinkel, a front office executive that Ross very much respects and admires.

It was yet another power struggle. And the wrong guy won.

Let's delve into Grier and his track record a bit further. According to one article I read today, Flores was not his first hire but his third. Somehow he was credited as the decision making authority in the hiring of Philbin and Gase before Flores. So this isn't the first head coach he has worked with, it's his third. Ironically, hiring Flores is probably the best move Grier has made in his tenure here. Now he's gone.

We keep firing head coaches and the results are shockingly the same. Do we really need to recap the draft picks and free agent signings over the past 9 years? I think not. They are all fresh enough in our memories to avoid that painful exercise.

So once again, we go back to the well for yet ANOTHER head coach. To work with Grier, who has managed to position himself as a team player always collaborating with the head coach on building the roster. At the same time, AVOIDING RESPONSIBILITY for the ultimate job that the GM must fill. Drafting and acquiring talent. When times get tough, and the owner gets impatient with the pace of the latest rebuild and no results to show, that's when Grier really shines. Gathering in suites on game day when Flores is busy on the field. Talking to Marino, Garfinkel, Ross, anyone who will listen. Highlighting mistakes the head coach has made. Criticizing play calls. Starting talk about "misalignment, poor communication, and relationship issues". Artfully working rooms and connections to paint a narrative that the head coach is not good enough, regardless of what is happening on the field. Or with failed draft picks, or free agent signings.

The only glimmer of hope - and the ONLY WAY - this becomes a positive comes from Mando. He's the one who has a source believing that Grier is safe for now. Not fully safe.

Grier had has his shot. He's made his coaching hires. He chose his quarterback. He built a treasure chest of draft picks and spent them. It's not good enough. Sweep out the GM and hire a new one to start fresh. It's the only way to turn this into something positive.

Good post, white.

But on the flipside, you have a coach that:
--has consistently gotten blown out against good teams and in important games
--has dug the team into huge insurmountable holes in the first half of consecutive seasons
--has been unable to hire a competent offensive staff
--mishandled the QB situation two years in a row
--completely ruined the defense for 8 games before going back to what worked the previous season
--routinely has clock management and in-game coaching (challenges, for example) issues
--has an ultra-conservative view of offense in an era where offense is king
--etc.

There's a lot to like about what Flores did in Miami, and I was arguably his biggest supporter on this board. But the fact is, he had issues that cost us a lot of games, and his inability to build a coaching staff was ultimately his undoing.

I agree that Grier should have been canned as well, but at least he put this team in great shape moving forward with cap space, picks and a handful of young building blocks.

Other head coach candidates:

Brian Daboll at least deserves an interview, but he has no head coaching experience and I'm not sure we want another ex-Patriots coach.

Todd Bowles should also get an interview, but I fear he is one of those "great coordinator but not a head coach" dudes.

Dan Quinn will likely draw interest from lots of teams, the Dolphins included.

There are of course a bunch of young "hot coaches" like Kellen Moore and Byron Leftwich, but I think we need an experienced guy this time around. Overall, I just think Pederson is the way to go.

Btw are you guys watching any ESPN today. Unanimous opinion. Dolphins effed up firing Flores and keeping Grier.

Yay, we suck again!

Can you understand why I walked away now? Even a little?

Something that baffles, befuddles and bewilders me though is that I keep being told Flores was fired so Tua could be kept??? Which would by definition mean no Watson???

At any rate, Flores and no Grier would've been better than Grier and no Flores IMO. Now the D will regress while the O stays bad since Grier still can't draft O-line to save his life and loves him some injury prone WRs. He's actually damn lucky Duke Johnson fell into his lap and decided to suddenly have his first two career 100-yard rushing games ever. That gives Grier an excuse to ignore RB. Again.

I was told all season that there was a Grier-Flores civil war going on and this proves it.

Oh well. I hate to say it but you guys are more screwed than a porn star unless Ross dies.

I'm absolutely okay with this. Grier should have been fired also. Next coach has his work cut out for him. He has to get Tua to throw for more than 15 feet and he needs to make Grier's shitty picks produce. We need to hire Jesus because we need a miracle!

Can you understand why I walked away now? Even a little?

Yes. This move smacks of nepotism, desperation, incompetence, all of the things we suffer through in our real jobs but look to a performance-based business like the NFL for evidence that good performance still matters somewhere. Yet it doesn't seem to.

Something that baffles, befuddles and bewilders me though is that I keep being told Flores was fired so Tua could be kept??? Which would by definition mean no Watson???

High likelihood there is split opinion in the organization on both quarterbacks. And there's good evidence for both sides to make arguments. Tua has played well and he's played poorly. He's still young, so room for development for sure.

Watson took a ton of sacks in Houston, and that won't change in Miami. Our track record with building an offensive line isn't years old, it's decades old. It is unreasonable to think we will suddenly become solid in pass protection. The price for acquiring Watson doesn't just come in dollars, it comes in tons of spent draft capital AND likely player talent. Do we have the remaining resources to build a squad around Watson, or do we just become another bad team with a good QB? (Notice I didn't say great QB)

At any rate, Flores and no Grier would've been better than Grier and no Flores IMO. Now the D will regress while the O stays bad since Grier still can't draft O-line to save his life and loves him some injury prone WRs. He's actually damn lucky Duke Johnson fell into his lap and decided to suddenly have his first two career 100-yard rushing games ever. That gives Grier an excuse to ignore RB. Again.

This is what has most everyone, including the media, bewildered today. With Flores, you knew you could count on a solid defense. At least you could count on one side of the ball coming to play, with a few exceptions.

Everyone knew he needed to find a veteran OC and find a way to make that relationship work in order to solve the problems on offense. Questions today on if Flores had that ability, had the juice to "fix" those issues. That's fair. But our next head coach will have drawbacks too, we just don't know what they are yet. Will our defense be as good? Will we go 4-2 against Belichek like Flores did?

If you fire Grier and hire a new GM, you get a second perspective on Flores. You get a chance to improve your talent acquisition team, you can try and draft better and sign better free agents.

Now it's clear that Grier holds all the cards. I don't know if we will get the best head coach after this move, due to both Grier and the fact we fired Flores after he finished a season 8-1.

Like all front office and coaching changes, this will be interesting. I'm not hopeful. Best case, someone (maybe even one of the candidates) convinces Ross he needs to fire Grier and start fresh. It's the best we can hope for, and I'm not thinking there's a good chance it happens.

Does Grier have photos of Ross at Epstein Island? I just can't fathom how he continues on?

Terrible offensive line
Terrible running backs
Terrible receivers except for Waddle

Defense gets pushed around by good teams.

This team is no different than it was when Tannehill was here. Coaches and players all picked by Grier.

Yes. Thats exactly my problem with this move, CC.

The GM is SUPPOSED to be accountable for the entire team.  Not just some good picks here and there, or whatever the case was made about firing Flores and not Grier.

Grier is turning into the most UNACCOUNTABLE GM in the league.  Coach after coach.  Draft class after draft class.  Somehow it's everyone else at fault but not Grier.  Regardless of the clear and obvious failures to acquire talent both in the draft and in free agency.  

Yes, the 2021 draft class looks good.  Does it make up for a decade of below average drafts with NO blue chip players? I guess X Howard counts as one.  ONE.

This year, how about that Will Fuller signing? Yeah great move to shore up the receiving corps.  I'm sure it was Flores though that had all that time to assess free agent receivers all year while he was coaching the team to 10-6.  

Also, great trade dumping Lawson for McKinney, who did not survive training camp.  I'm not saying McKinney was great, what I'm saying Lawson contract was one year old and we dumped him essentially for nothing.

I could go on and on.  It's mystifying how NONE of the team's problems fall on Grier.  So far, the only ones held accountable are the head coaches - and hell this time our head coach has just put together TWO WINNING SEASONS! With the trash he was handed.

I'm hearing that Flores blew up at Tua in the locker room after the Titans loss and also that the main (and possibly only) reason Watson wanted to come to Miami is because of Flores. Why Watson would be such a Flores fan I will leave to you.

https://phinphanatic.com/2022/01/10/miami-dolphins-with-flores-out-will-deshaun-watson-talk-go-with-him/

Also, is it just me or does Grier have an *extremely* punchable face?

https://phinphanatic.com/2022/01/10/miami-dolphins-will-not-fire-chris-grier-per-report/

BTW the media is pushing a new narrative HARD that the same owner who hired a black head coach is a racist for firing him due to a conflict with the black GM who he's not firing. Which proves yet again that absolutely nobody should ever believe or take seriously anything the media says.

Flores wanting Herbert and being overruled by Grier/possibly Ross wanting Tua now makes sense.

That said, while Herbert does appear to be further along than Tua---who wouldn't be with the line and coordinators Tua had this year? And while the kid made mistakes, Tua also showed a lot of grit and a lot of promise.

I too am all in on Pederson. Quinn appears to be the quintessential "good DC, mediocre HC" who just happened to catch lightning in a bottle with Ryan's career year in 2016. Caldwell is good, but Pederson is better, and I have a feeling O'Connell isn't ready and Daboll will flop as a HC.

Put it this way, three men have taken the Eagles to the SB: Vermeil, Reid and Pederson. The first two also took their second teams to the Super Bowl and won it with them. The third is looking for that second team.

Herbert missed the playoffs too. Just sayin'.

And I know that Hal knows that no coach has even won a Super Bowl with two different teams. Again, just sayin'.

DolFan 316 wrote:Herbert missed the playoffs too. Just sayin'.

And I know that Hal knows that no coach has even won a Super Bowl with two different teams. Again, just sayin'.

True, but I'd be happy with just getting to one at this point.

They went against the Miami trend. Usually the team loses, the owner expresses confidence, the coach gets an extension and then gets fired.

I have a few questions. Was this decision made when the Fins were 1-7? If s, why wasn't Flores just fired then? Were Grier and Ross actually rooting AGAINST this team when they started winning? Did they celebrate after the Titans loss? Were they still actually going to fire Flores had he made the playoffs? What about if he'd won a game or two? We've seen teams go on more ludicrously improbable playoff runs.

Cam wasn't even fired as quickly as this. SMH.

I think Flores was safe if they'd made the playoffs, no way to spin that as a negative as the team would have shown progress each season in the end.

I think he also would have been safe with a close, tough, competitive loss in Tennessee.

I think 34-3 with everything on the line sealed it. Every bit as embarrassing as the egg laid in Buffalo with it all on the line last year.

HalCHorn wrote:I think Flores was safe if they'd made the playoffs, no way to spin that as a negative as the team would have shown progress each season in the end.

I think he also would have been safe with a close, tough, competitive loss in Tennessee.

I think 34-3 with everything on the line sealed it. Every bit as embarrassing as the egg laid in Buffalo with it all on the line last year.

I've read reports Grier went ballistic on coach killer Tua?

CarsonChris wrote:

HalCHorn wrote:I think Flores was safe if they'd made the playoffs, no way to spin that as a negative as the team would have shown progress each season in the end.

I think he also would have been safe with a close, tough, competitive loss in Tennessee.

I think 34-3 with everything on the line sealed it.  Every bit as embarrassing as the egg laid in Buffalo with it all on the line last year.  

I've read reports Grier went ballistic on coach killer Tua?

I heard it was Flores that yelled at Tua. Which is ironic, since Flores's coaching staff is the one that decided to throw the ball 80% of the time in freezing rain and didn't bother to prepare for those conditions.

Flores made his own bed by treating the offense like it didn't matter.

And more media bullshit: no one had anything good to say about Flores when he was actually coaching the Dolphins, but now that he got fired he's the next Vince Lombardi and the Dolphins committed a crime against humanity by firing him. So absurd.

The bottom line here is this: no matter what you think of Flores, he failed. No playoffs for 3 years. His offense was putrid year after year. He's a defensive guru, yet his "great" defense never showed up in a big game and got curbstomped way too many times. Look, I like Flores and I think this team is closer than many think. But the #1 priority in Miami is fixing the damn offense, and I've seen nothing to indicate that Flores can do it. I'll wait to see who we actually hire, but as of today I'm not shedding any tears over Flores getting fired.

CarsonChris wrote:I'm absolutely okay with this.  Grier should have been fired also. Next coach has his work cut out for him. He has to get Tua to throw for more than 15 feet and he needs to make Grier's shitty picks produce. We need to hire Jesus because we need a miracle!

Honestly, a Dolphins turnaround shouldn't be all that difficult. Hire a competent, experienced coach that doesn't have to learn on the job. Fix the OL and running game, and add a playmaker at WR. Do that and this is a playoff team right away.

The Dolphins problem has been that they keep hiring incompetent, inexperienced coaches that have no idea what they're doing and have to learn on the fly. Cameron, Sparano, Philbin, Gase, Flores...how many more times are we going to do the same thing???

As for Tua, he's a winner and he'll be great once he gets an OL and some receivers that can actually get open.